London and Its Places of Interest

England

 

England is the largest and the richest country of Great Britain. The capital of England is London but there are other large industrial cities, such as Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and other famous and interesting cities such as York, Chester, Oxford and Cambridge.

Stonehenge is one of the most famous prehistoric places in the world. This ancient circle of stones stands in Southwest England. It measures 80 metres across and made with massive blocks of stone up to four metres high. Why it was built is a mystery.

Not far from Stonehenge stands Salisbury Cathedral. It is a splendid example of an English Gothic Cathedral; inside there is one of four copies of Magna Charta and the oldest clock in England.

Chester is very important town in the north-west of England. In the past it used to be a Roman fort; its name comes from the Latin word castra, meaning “fortified camp”. In Chester there is a famous museum which contains over 5000 ancient and modern toys.

Oxford is the home of the oldest university of England. The most famous college is Christ Church. It has a great hall which was built during the reign of Henry VIII and its chapel has become the Cathedral of Oxford.

Cambridge is the home of Britain's second oldest university.

York was the capital of Northern England. It is оnе of the best preserved medieval cities of Europe. It was built by the Romans, conquered by the Anglo-Saxons and ruled by the Vikings.

Birmingham is often called the “City of 1 500 trades” because of the great variety of its industries.

Vocabulary:


famous — знаменитый

camp — лагерь

to measure — измерять

college — колледж

cathedral — собор

medieval — средневековый

fort — форт

conquered — завоёванный, покорённый


 

Questions:

1. What are large industrial cities of England?

2. What is оnе of the most famous prehistoric place in the world?

3. Where are the oldest clock in England and a copy of Magna Charta now?

4. What is Chester interesting for?

5. What are two oldest universities in England?

6. What was the capital of Northern England?

7. Why is Birmingham called the “City of 1500 trades”?

8. Why is it impossible to call the whole country England?

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If you happen to be on a visit to England, it will be of great use for you to know a few facts about the capital of the country whose language you are studying.

London is an ancient city. It grew up around the first point where the Roman invaders found the Thames narrow enough to build a bridge. They found a small Celtic settlement then known as Londinium and by A. D. 300 they had turned it into a sizeable port and an important trading centre.

Londontoday stretches for nearly 30 miles from north to south and for nearly 30 miles from east to west. This is the area known as “Greater London” with a population of eight million people.

If you fly low over London in a helicopter, for example, you will see below you the winding line of the river Thames flowing from west to east and dividing London into two parts known as the north bank and the south bank.

Those who come to learn London’s history will find much to interest them in the City, the heart of the business and financial life of the country. Here most of the streets are narrow and run down to the Thames, the traffic is slow. It is a very small part of London, only one square mile in area but it is one of the busiest parts of the capital. High office buildings stand on either side of the narrow streets, all business firms are concentrated here.

The most striking building of the City today is St.Paul’s Cathedral designed by Sir Christopher Wren, a famous English architect of the 17th century. People say that the cathedral is one of the finest Renaissance churches in Europe.

About two miles westward is another part of London that now is called the West end. Here you will see Westminster Abbey, at which all British kings and queens are crowned. It dates back to 1049. Many famous people are buried in the Abbey; among them are Newton, Darwin, Dickens and Kipling.

Across the road from Westminster Abbey there are the Houses of Parliament with its famous Big Ben, a huge clock built just over a century ago. In this part of London and further west, there are the finest theatres, cinemas and concert halls, large museums, hotels, restaurants, the most famous shops and numerous parks. That is the part where rich people live.

To the east of the city there is the Port of London. Here today are miles and miles of docks and the great industrial area that depends upon shipping. This is the East End of London, unattractive in appearance, but very important to the country’s commerce. The streets here are narrow and dirty, the houses are overcrowded. This part of the capital is famous for the Tower of London, one of the most ancient and interesting places in the city.

It is certain that a foreigner must be surprised by the sight of London. It will seem noisy, overcrowded and filled with undisciplined-looking buildings.

On the other hand, London is very attractive for tourists. It’s very old and full of historical places, full of customs and traditions. Englishmen themselves are a mixture of past and present, of the old-fashioned and the very modern.

Visitors are usually greatly surprised by the number of bridges across the river Thames. The capital has 14 bridges, the famous London Bridge being the biggest of them.

The streets of London are always of great interest for tourists. In some parts of London they are very much alike, as the houses are the same in style and colour. The houses are not big; they are mostly two-storeyed buildings with many front doors and many little gardens.

There is a lot of traffic in the streets of the town: endless lines of buses, many of which are double-deckers, motorcars and taxies. The traffic regulations in London differ from ours: they drive on the left side of the road instead of the right. And when you try to cross the road, you feel that you need eyes all round you head.

The quickest way to get about London is the Underground, or “the tube”. It seems that everyone in the London Underground is always in a hurry. Men are running fast, carrying their bags, umbrellas and newspapers. They are busy Londoners; they are “saving time”.

Vocabulary:

Celtic settlement — кельтское поселение

by A.D. 300 — к 300 г. н. э.

to turn the settlement into a sizeable port and an important trading centre — превратить поселение в большой порт и важный торговый центр

to stretch – простираться

helicopter – вертолет

winding line – извилистаялиния

mile – миля

St.Paul’s Cathedral – СоборСвятогоПавла

WestminsterAbbey – Вестминстерскоеаббатство

The Tower of London – ЛондонскийТауэр

Questions:


1. What is London?

2. When and where was London founded?

3. Who turned London into a sizeable port and an important trading centre?

4. Why is London one of the most famous capital cities of the world?

5. Is London a city of great contrasts?

6. What part of London is the richest one? Why?

7. What district is inhabited by the poor?

8. Where is industry chiefly found?

9. What is the heart of London?

10. Where is the Tower of London situated?

11. Where are outstanding statesmen, sovereigns, painters and poets buried?

12. What is Big Ben?

13. How many bridges are there across the river Thames?

14. What are the differences between traffic regulations in Britain and in our country?

15. How do Londoners call the Underground?